# Does Worcestershire need to be refrigerated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610 "2005-06-30T23:42:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/1 "2005-06-30T23:42:47Z")
The title pretty much says it all - does Worcestershire sauce need to be refrigerated? I have a bottle of Lea & Perrins and the ingredients list molasses, HFCS and anchovies. It makes no mention of refrigerating after opening. However, those three things sound like they could cause problems if not chilled. Is it the fact that vinegar is the main ingredient that keeps Worcestershire from going rank? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/2 "2005-06-30T23:46:27Z")
No, it does not need to be refrigerated. The stuff is aged so long already…a little more time in the cabinet isn’t going to hurt it any. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/3 "2005-06-30T23:46:55Z")
I never refrigerate worcestershire sauce. Maybe it is capable of spoiling, but not in the few weeks that a bottle lasts me. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/4 "2005-06-30T23:47:31Z")
I’ve got a bottle that’s been in the cupboard for at least five years and it’s perfectly OK. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/5 "2005-06-30T23:48:53Z")
No. Never heard of it, and the British bottles don’t suggest it (even though the Heinz Ketchup ones do, which is routinely ignored). Vinegar is the single biggest ingredient, so yes, it’s essentially self-preserving. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/6 "2005-06-30T23:55:18Z")
I refrigerate it after I open it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/7 "2005-07-01T00:10:21Z")
Huh. When I was growing up, the Worcestershire bottle was always in the fridge. I never really considered it could be left out like vinegar. Does anyone know if there’s a flavor difference? Is it better to leave it out or refrigerate it, or does it not matter? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/8 "2005-07-01T00:16:21Z")
> [@BayleDomon](#): > > Does anyone know if there’s a flavor difference? Is it better to leave it out or refrigerate it, or does it not matter? I don’t know about a flavour difference because I’ve never kept in the refrigerator. The temperature difference would be obvious though. When I use Worcestershire sauce, it goes on to hot, cooked meat. I don’t want to put a cold, refrigerated sauce on my hot meat. That’s why I keep all sauces and condiments (Worcestershire, tomato, pickle, mustards etc) in the cupboard at room temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/9 "2005-07-01T00:20:50Z")
The Romans didn’t refrigerate it, and neither do I. And I’m still alive after all those years of consuming room-temp Lea and Perrins. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/10 "2005-07-01T00:21:10Z")
I’ve always refrigerated Worchestershire sauce out of habit, and my balsamic vinegar too. I’m from Miami, where almost any food you leave out draws ants or roaches. My mom always put the cereal in the fridge, the peanut butter, open bags of potato chips, and even the vinegary stuff. Nowadays, I find out most people don’t do that, and they think it’s weird. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/11 "2005-07-01T00:32:45Z")
> [@The Sausage Creature](#): > > The Romans didn’t refrigerate it, and neither do I. And I’m still alive after all those years of consuming room-temp Lea and Perrins. I was wondering if it is the closest that most of us would ever get to garum. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/12 "2005-07-01T00:49:55Z")
The bar I work in has Worchestershire on hand for Caesers and Bloody Marys. It’s usually sitting out on the counter, but in the summer it gets tossed in the refridgerator to avoid the fruit fly problem. Since it’s going in a cold drink, the temp doesn’t matter either way. I don’t have any in my apartment (I’m vegetarian), but I know my mum always kept it in the fridge. Not sure if there was a reason for that though, or if it just fell into my family’s habit of contradictory refridgeration (dijon mustard and salad cream found in the cupboards, while white vinegar and flour went in the fridge, and stuff like that :dubious: ). ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/13 "2005-07-01T01:49:37Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > I was wondering if it is the closest that most of us would ever get to garum. Either that or any number of other present-day [fish sauces](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garum). The same site says that garum was anchovy paste, but I’ve seen references that question this ([Pliny](http://www.hungrymonster.com/FoodFacts/Food_Facts.cfm?Phrase_vch=Fish&fid=9179) (The Elder) and [Martial](http://www.parthia.com/parthia_cuisine.htm#Garum) both insinuate that it was indeed a liquid). ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/14 "2005-07-01T01:56:58Z")
> [@amaranta](#): > > I don’t have any in my apartment (I’m vegetarian), but I know my mum always kept it in the fridge. Last I heard, the Angostura version is vegetarian; I’m a vegetarian myself and thought I’d turned up that info a number of years ago. I could be misinformed, though. I keep mine in the cupboard, due to the vinegar content and because the stuff is long-aged anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/15 "2005-07-01T02:13:39Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > Last I heard, the Angostura version is vegetarian; I’m a vegetarian myself and thought I’d turned up that info a number of years ago. I could be misinformed, though. I keep mine in the cupboard, due to the vinegar content and because the stuff is long-aged anyway. Oh, you can buy a anchovy-free versions in most health food stores around here. I’ve just found no need for it - it wasn’t in any favourite recipes I veganized, and I haven’t come across it in any new recipes I’ve tried. What do you Dopers use it in, anyway? I can only think of two things I saw my mum use it in - homemade hamburger patties, and caes **a** r (just noticed the typo in my last post) salad dressing. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/16 "2005-07-01T05:46:02Z")
> [@amaranta](#): > > What do you Dopers use it in, anyway? Cheese on toast! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/17 "2005-07-01T05:54:20Z")
Anything with beef in it, cheesy things, but most importantly…in Bloody Marys! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/18 "2005-07-01T06:26:35Z")
> [@amaranta](#): > > What do you Dopers use it in, anyway? My wife uses it on her fried eggs and bacon. We both use it with beef dishes, and I use it as an ingredient in cooking. > [@adam yax](#): > > I was wondering if it is the closest that most of us would ever get to garum. When I cook Roman, I always use Thai fish sauce with a sprinkle of Holbrooks W.S. in it. Worchestershire also goes into my _murri_(or whatever that Islamic condiment is that gets buried for several months) ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/19 "2005-07-01T11:07:01Z")
In the cupboard. Think of it like Tabasco sauce. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610/20 "2005-07-01T11:59:02Z")
Cupboard, but then, I go through almost 2 bottles a month and I could probubly keep mine on the roof in the summer and it wouldn’t have time to go bad. I use it on: Tomatoe slices eggs kielbasi fish egg rolls Bloody Ceasers sauces soups meat rice salads foot ointment (sorry about that last one). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-worcestershire-need-to-be-refrigerated/310610.md?page=2)